https://i.imgur.com/m5B9wyk.png

Won't lie, I don't have high hopes for this two-parter, as it deals with subject matter that I super don't care for ontop of being incredibly cliche in how it's handled at that. The fight at the end was cool atleast? And the omakes after the credits are always fun.

Terui! And he's busting up thugs like the trash they are without needing to transform! What a way to introduce our Second Rider!

It's so surreal hearing Makoto Furukawa as Terui. Like, it's Tada Banri and Miyuki Shirogane voicing Kamen Rider Accel of all people!

He said the line! Though I prefer when it's translated as "Don't Ask Me Questions!"

Philip is taking over the investigation and catching Meganeura, who turns out to be a violent and mean gamer whose handle is Murder who has it out for Megu because she beat him (even when he was using more modern controls and cheats) in a game with her character. What a jerk.

I love how Monako threw in there that Shotaro was "pretentious." Like, she's not wrong, but the dude just got himself severely hurt trying to protect you.

Tokime is beating herself up enough over what happened, she doesn't need Philip treating her like she's barely more useful than air.

So Aurora Dopant, or Bando, is trying to create a society of evolved Dopants? And he's using Meganeura as a test run? I guess he and his group aren't your average crime family.

Monako doesn't want to be Megu again, but Shotaro will fight any injury if it means giving an inspiration pep talk and having someone realize the truth about themselves...which in Monako's case is that, while she doesn't love being Megu, she loves making the fans happy. And that's enough reason for her to become Megu. And I love how Tokime looks like she could listen to Shotaro talk all day and then Shotaro collapses from his injuries again.

Akiko finally puts it to words that Philip is just jealous of how close Shotaro and Tokime are, because Shotaro is his partner, and Akiko is more than happy to educate Philip on the existence of BL.

Tokime notices how obviously suspicious Maji-P is...but it turns out he was so obvious intentionally, because the real conspirator is actually the head of Megu's makeup team who resented her for having so much success despite not enjoying it, while she never got her big break. So she enlisted Murder for a revenge plot. Such a petty and cruel reason to attack Megu, but the way she breaks down shows that she realizes the weight of her crimes.

So we've got a Megu changing scene where she takes her shirt off and we get to see her in a bra, and we've got Meganuera's drones ripping Tokime's top and basically exposing her boobs for all too see. This really is the most boobs in a single Kamen Rider show I have ever seen.

Tokime isn't about to fail this time, and she manages to free Megu from Meganuera even when he drags her into the sky! Although right when Meganeura is about to finish them off...Fang shows up to save both ladies and herald the arrival of Philip as FangJoker to finish Meganeura off in the next episode! Can't wait!

Radio personality Tokime! She's surprisingly good at it, and she gets a direct question to Terui about whether he counts as a Kamen Rider when he transforms into a bike rather than rides on...which gets the response you'd all expect.

Hell yeah, FangJoker! Hopefully we get to see the actual transformation next week.

Not sure how I feel about the resolution between Tokime and Philip... mostly because Philip was absolutely right. Tokime is just a random girl who showed up, got slotted into their dynamic, and then royally screws up at the worst time. She doesn't actually do anything, either. I would be a bit more sympathetic if she didn't then snap back at Philip with a nonsensical retort. Philip was fighting as W, all Tokime had to do was not leave the client alone. She doesn't really have a case, yet manages to get sympathy and an apology for basically nothing. It's good that she tried to save Megu but it felt very ham-fisted. I recall her being similarly flat and purposeless in the manga and that hadn't changed by the time I reached the end of the fanlations. She's really just there for fanservice and causing somewhat pointless drama.

Then again it does make Philip come across as an even bigger person that he acknowledged his jealously, processed it, and was man enough to apologize. It's reminding me why I love post-series content like this. Philip has matured emotionally, and while he's not exactly what you'd call "normal," he's lacking the arrogance he once had and is committed to his job and his partner enough to set aside any personal feelings. I don't feel like early or mid-series Philip would be this self-aware and humble.

Also finally we see Terui Ryu and... they didn't even try to get a VA who sounds like him. :lol Still, he rocks, and I'm with Akiko on watching him shoot the bugs. Due to my hazy memories of the manga I didn't expect Fang at the end and thought it might be Accel but oh well. I do know Terui gets time to shine later on.

The villain was also something I forgot. I'm actually surprised how not mean-spirited this take on an angry gamer is. Not as risen up/bottom text as I expected. He's not pitiable because he's a gamer, he's just an asshole and his chosen outlet is never called into question. Megu never had to say "they leveled up." (shoutout to circa 2010 SVU and it's sophisticated accuracy in regards to human interaction) He's still less of a douchebag than LTG though so he's got that going for him. :lolol

To be fair, I don't think it was 100% her fault. It seems like either something about Meganeura or Aurora forced her into a trance so she couldn't control herself, and we see here when she's actually able to be active she managed to nab the second culprit and free Megu from Meganeura...they of course still needed W to show up other wise this wouldn't be much of a Kamen Rider show.

It feels like she's really trying hard now to live up to the faith Shotaro has placed in her and her new identity as his assistant.

https://i.imgur.com/vwWIz8E.png

...So in other words, he did exactly what is expected of competitive fighting game players, and considering he strategy was easily defeated, it's clearly not as much of an unfair advantage as what the episode tries to make it out to be.

Add to that the continued idol cliches and how Tokime really did not have a case(we as the audience know the situation wasn't her fault, but the cast sure as heck wouldn't), and yeah, I still just can't get into this one.

And I guess the anime is gonna be all three-parters now? I'm fine with that, since the pacing itself hasn't been bad so far. Was also a bit disappointed in the FangJoker Henshin, but maybe it'll be improved next episode.

Usually this would annoy me, but this is also coupled with them saying he literally changed the game's code which is the much more important factor (how that actually works when it's not his console or even game is beyond me but alright), and... it seems to be playing on the idea that yeah it's fine but it's cheap? Like just considered a really lame exploit, coupled with how he was acting like a big shot

Yeah I took it more as "he's a cheater who is also generally a cheap player and obnoxious turd all around," rather than accusing him of poor sportsmanship purely for using exploits.

Fair enough, though I feel that, if they really wanted to emphasize the cheater aspect, maybe lead off with that in the accusations? Plus, if he really did somehow modify a game/console that wasn't his own to begin with... he's really bad at it considering he still lost. The accusation loses alot of weight due to that. If anything the accusation of being a cheapskate would be more true of Ms. Idol, considering she oneshots him during the fight.

Terui! Enough said.

Yeah, I was kind of hoping the case would get more interesting this episode, but alas, not really. We got some nice moments here and there, and some Villain Background for Bando, but the case is kind of whatever. Though it does kind of fit the Phillip arc with Tokime in a way, so I guess it has that going for it. But hey, it can always surprise on the last episode, not that I mind one way or the other, since I'm not an idol fan anyway.

We're getting FangJoker in the next episode, whoooo! Also, do not mind Terui's voice, again, these voices kind of work as older versions of the cast, which I appreciate.

And then there's a cute little radio show segment with Tokime (are you from the future?) interviewing Terui on one of the most darndest questions yet. Love how the Road Dopant is now a recurring character.

That would explain why he was so pissed.

Though given we're not told what he did to cheat it could've been something like "gave himself extra health" or something not obviously game-breaking. Cheaters don't always make it obvious how they're cheating, especially if it's going to be live and they're pretending not to.

Reminds me of how Elden Ring's PvP was inundated with cheap bleed builds and PC players modding the physick to give multiple buffs but would still get stomped by actual good players. (y'know, before PvP died)

Y'all are forgetting Megu programmed the game they were playing, so if any of them would be able to see if a player is relying on cheap tactics to win, it'd be her.

Her winning would make sense considering she knows the game she programs, so she'd get around any of the cheap player exploits he'd be doing.

EDIT: Some fun tidbits too, the white board writings in the previous episode had some easter egg references, such as a horse racing mention (Megu's VA voices one of the more popular girls in Uma Musume) and that Genm Corp is one of Maxsoft's main competitors in the gaming market.

That doesn't really change anything. If anything all it means is that she's irresponsible because if she acknowledges that something is cheap or unfair or whatever, then she needs to patch it out and yet hasn't.

And, again, if the tactics can be be so easily circumvented or defeated, then they clearly aren't as bad as what she claims.

This is also of course operating on the logic that the Evil Game Journalist somehow illegally modified a game/console that wasn't his to begin with, which is nonsense.

The entire scenario could've been handled way, way better, even if you disregard the writer not having any knowledge on how competitive play in fighting games works.

Doesn't she spend every waking moment she's not dressed as Megu working on updates for the game?

It's clear this game is an ongoing thing, and it even seems like she's the soul developer. Also I don't think you know much about game development if you think exploits and bugs can be magically fixed with ease. :lol

Also actually reading the subs again, I don't think she was accusing him of modifying the game in their match, rather it's just something he's known for on top of his lack of sportsmanship and use of exploits/glitches.

Didn't say they could be magically fixed with ease, just that she had yet to fix them despite knowing they're there. Which, taking her description at face value, she hasn't. And if she does spend every waking moment working on the game, perhaps maybe she should focus on those things that she deems unfair or whatever. We're not given enough info to know the process exactly, so all I have to go on is, well, what we're given. Which is that she's the developer and she never once says she's focusing on the issues with the game of which she acknowledges.

Saying that he's just known for cheating rather then modifying the data of their specific match would make more sense, although it does raise the question of that, if they knew the guy was like that begin with, why even humor him with a match in the first place?

How do you know she's not? Because she doesn't explicitly say she's working on the exploits he's used? What do you think "updating" on a game is if not, y'know, updating?

You're very fixated on a detail that you're not even sure is one or another. I assume her constant working on the game is maintenance because they don't make it out like the game is seeing constant expansion. Plus again, if you know anything about game development, it's that any update or patch inevitably leads to more unseen bugs and exploits cropping up.

The game having known exploits and the soul developer being unable to patch them all at any given time is possibly the most realistic aspect of this whole scenario. Modern games have entire studios with teams of developers and they can't work this efficiently. :lol

Yet you still draw conclusions on the process? You seem dead set on twisting any possible scenario into being the developer's fault.

Does she have to say it explicitly? It's not like the game's functionality is part of the plot. If she's working on the game almost 24/7 what else would she be doing?

Probably for the actual reason we saw, where she takes him down a peg by out-playing him in front of a live audience?

I don't think it's unreasonable for Megu to not assume that a jerk who cheats at video games would turn out to be an actual psychopath and murderer who would also just happen to be given a Gaia Memory to turn into a giant bug. Unless you think developers should be able to patch that out, too. :lolol

How do you know she is? We don't. Which is why we can only give our impressions as see the media being presented to us.

I'm really not. I simply noted one aspect of the plot that stood out to me, and people keep asking me about it/contributing to the conversation, so I elaborate and reply in turn. That's all there is to it, really.

To keep it simple: I just found that one aspect really poorly implemented and elaborated on, that's really all there is to it.

Seems petty, but sure I guess.

I never once brought up how he ended up being the Dopant, so I'm not sure why you're bringing it up? Nor am I saying he's innocent in literally everything he does as one, if that's what you're getting at. I'm honestly confused here.

It's time to let loose with FangJoker as it howls once more in anime form! It even stops Meganeura's attack when it tries to interrupt the transformation.

I just love how Shotaro couldn't help but comment on Tokime's less than covered up chest area.

I love how Shotaro is being protected from the drones by the Memory Gadgets.

It's blade vs blade as FangJoker engages Meganeura and holds its own while slicing and dicing Meganuera like high-mobility predator it is! And better yet, Philip figured out Meganeura's pressure gimmick through it's hidden wings and managed to use a boomerang to take out his wings and freeing W to finish it with FangJoker's Rider Kick, Fang Strizer! What a way to close things out.

Oh, and here's an Accel cameo to whet your appetites.

Well, sucks that Koizumi is under arrest and off to jail, and Monako blames herself for not realizing how much Koizumi resented her, but at least now she knows how much Maji-P really cares about her and her wellbeing and how he was working to protect her from behind the scenes the whole time. He cared about her so much he jeopardized his own job when he realized the execs were the ones who only cared about using her and her image.

It's really sweet, though, that Monako is willing to walk away and start from scratch with Maji-P so they can be together again, and she'll do whatever it takes so they can be a success again...together!

New outfit for Tokime! We get get to see her get dressed and a fabulous shot of her fine butt in panties as she puts her pants on! And her top isn't translucent anymore, but it accentuates her figure quite well all the same. They're also courtesy of Shotaro! Should we ask how Shotaro knew her size though.

Tokime's really become part of the team now! She gets along with the Memory Gadgets, finally gets along with Philip, and even has her own pink Stag Phone! It's super cute.

Oh, and Philip has discovered the joy of homosexuality. Good for him.

Well, Murder fell short of Bando's expectations and now he's nothing but a loose end for the Auroroa Dopant to wipe out of existence, as he and his crazy forces (a giant skeletal brachiosaurus!?) lie in wait for their next move.

Ah, so we're continuing the Healing Princess NEO corner with Terui! Actually, fun fact, Terui was intended to be the second half of W by Philip's mom, so that question seemed quite significant.

https://i.imgur.com/IY5zd2p.png

I choose to interpret this as meaning that my Shotaro & Philip ship is still intact and you can't convince me otherwise.

Anyway, yeah, this whole arc really wasn't my thing for the most part. Probably the biggest reason as to why being that I just really didn't find any of the characters or the scenario in general all that engaging. Even the conflict between Philip and Tokime felt really bland to me at best and forced at worst.

But, in regards to this episode, there were still some highlights. The fight that took up the whole first half of the episode was nice, and I did like the added touch of the spikes popping out of suit at the end of FangJoker's' Henshin.

As well, those final few minutes with the Aurora Dopant made for a great hook and setting up the ideology of whom I presume is our Big Bad. So hopefully the next arc will be more my speed.

They keep teasing Accel like this and I'm gonna riot.

Also Akiko is Milo and Philip is Tarzan. If you know, you know.

I loved the part when Phillip said "It's Morbin' Time" then morbed all over the Dopant.

But in all seriousness, I did enjoy the outcome of this case, even if I wasn't much of a fan of it, I can understand why they did it, so that works nonetheless.

Fang Joker had a great debut and extended transformation, and his fight was neat as well. Love how Shoutarou was being protected by the gadgets when the Meganuera attacked.

New outfit and toy for Tokime (really enjoyed seeing the Memory Gadgets again) and classic Phillip researching something interesting only to find something else to get engaged in later (remembering the Break-Dancing Arc where he dumped it for Mount Fuji).

Accel tease, and just noticing Terui's hair is dual colored. And boy, Aurora cleaning up evidence and showing off his subordinates (a gosh darn Brachiosaurus too!) was neat.

Love how the segment referenced W's lore and the second Road Dopant appearing.

I kinda like adding a third episode to each arc instead of the classic two. It gives the stories a bit more room to breathe and develop, although I did feel like the second half of this episode suffered a bit from being mostly just some extended denouement for the case.

Also, I've been debating whether or not to mention it, but I wouldn't mind if the show was less aggressively horny. I'm not a prude by any definition, but I feel like there's an appropriate time and place for everything and all of the bouncing tits and underwear shots just don't feel like they belong in Kamen Rider to me.

Late here for previous occupants, but the last few episodes are 3 parts, instead of double parts, not like many Rider stories, but just how W is structured in the series of the double meaning letter titles.

Yeah Philip started out W as cold and abrasive, but I thought he had grown out of it in the end of the series (though I felt that his "mad scientist" vibe is finally addressed here by Shotaro, when talking about his fascination), thus I thought they're regressing him back when he mistreats Tokime. Though actually the TV series development sticks when he quickly apologizes to Tokime when he realizes his mistake after learning from Akiko, for his irrational disdain to her due to jealousy. He just didn't know all 100% social cues yet.

Akiko can be occassionally teasing in the main TV series, but here that trait of hers is much more significant here than usual, to solve Philip's problem above. It's instead used to assure Philip that he's gaining more humanity, even if it's a rather negative trait here (of jealousy), but that also means it can be understood and be dealt with. And here comes Akiko's slipper slap the first time... with the target being one of Meganeura Dopants' dragonflies instead of a human.

There was a red herring that Maji-P seems to be the main villain of this 3 parter in his aggressive and inconsiderate behavior to forcibly drag Monako into becoming Megu, which implies he only cares about his company's image (while also setting up the fight between Megu with Mihara), but turns out it's Midori which was the jealous one. And perhaps Maji-P being aggressive was him being desperate under the Maxsoft executives' behavior before he's finally fed up of their greed, not Maji-P's. To tackle the greed of Maxsoft (along with Monako)... there's a sacrifice though, in the Mon-Rado fanbase.

For once, compared to how Philip and Terui are often the one to be shilled, here, it's Shotaro who is valued the most by the client for opening her eyes of the positive side of her (and Shotaro's job) of making people smile. I'd wish Shotaro instead used his own phrase of "not letting others cry" instead there. But it's an irony in the end that despite Monako holding Shotaro in high regard while still valuing the others, Shotaro felt neglected to not be viewed as a Kamen Rider, as well as feeling useless in this case.... and others not really explaining how W works that Shotaro's consciousness is transfered to Philip (or vice-versa) that Shotaro's still fighting there. It's an irony too that, he didn't know that Philip (and Akiko) annoying him by implying a ship between him and Shotaro was (jokes aside, probably was Philip learning about LGBTQ)... how Tokime and Philip's beef was resolved.

Sorry for replying to this for long time, but it's not about invalidating what Philip said, but here's the thing; honesty without tact is cruelty. Yes Tokime screwed up there, but anyone who screwed up doesn't have a right to be mercilessly verbally abused or such, or that anyone who makes right statements are immune to any further criticism (which can include outright villains, of which their right points doesn't justify what they did or can even be invalidated with their actions), of which it's also common for them to milk it to enjoy the brutality (instead of the honesty) and get away with it. There's a difference between constructive criticism and just being mean to put others down, and tact can be employed in being honest too, it's not always 'sugarcoating' something if it's not 'brutally honest'.

A̶n̶d̶ ̶a̶f̶t̶e̶r̶ ̶p̶u̶t̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶p̶a̶n̶t̶s̶ ̶o̶n̶,̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶r̶e̶'̶s̶ ̶a̶ ̶s̶h̶o̶t̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶z̶i̶p̶p̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶b̶o̶o̶t̶s̶ ̶o̶n̶.̶ ̶S̶h̶e̶ ̶s̶h̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ ̶d̶o̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶r̶e̶v̶e̶r̶s̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶z̶i̶p̶ ̶o̶u̶t̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶b̶o̶o̶t̶s̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶s̶o̶m̶e̶ ̶p̶l̶a̶c̶e̶s̶ ̶o̶t̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶n̶ ̶b̶a̶t̶h̶i̶n̶g̶.̶.̶ ̶l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶S̶h̶o̶t̶a̶r̶o̶'̶s̶ ̶b̶e̶d̶.̶ About Tokime dressing on though, with her being heavily guarded by Akiko (with threatening slippers that has anti-boy writings), maybe looking too much on it but that reminds of the double standards where girls get that protection even from any accidental or unwarranted mistakes, but it'd be ok for boys to be peeked on (or stalked, etc.), or even getting themselves beaten up for a girl accidentally peeks them...

It feels like they're catering a bit more to a manga/anime audience now...

As far as I remember, the manga was written with an older W audience in mind. Given that the show came out in 2009, and the comic in 2017, these are teenagers 13-15 years old. At this age, because of hormones, only boobs are thought of, and, apparently, all this erotica is just introduced to please their tastes. Although yes, I would rather expect that from Sakamoto than Sanjo.

I'm not bothered by it, but I understand others ain't. There are nudes in the Manga, so this is not as graphic, but still.

I don't argue against the "For Older Audience," or the "Anime=Fanservice" angle, but another factor is W's inspiration from Noir Detective stories which are equally, if not, more loaded with that kind of content.

But to each their own. I understand the concerns, I'm not a fan either but I don't mind it either.

Honesty without tact is honesty. Nothing cruel about it. If she's going to be working as a detective investigating Fuuto's seedy underbelly she's going to need a thicker skin than that.

He wasn't "mercilessly verbally abusive." That's very over-dramatic. Philip was a bit harsh, yes, but his demeanour was calm and he was factually correct. Tokime screwed up and got his partner seriously inured on top of compromising their investigation.

Except Tokime's retort wasn't criticism, it was transparent insults hurled back without any thought. It made no sense and she only said it because she was hurt and wanted to be rude right back at Philip in a blatantly childish way.

The fact that Tokime didn't even apologize just goes to show how the plot was favouring her over Philip and it's incredibly transparent. If it was really about tact and being constructive she would have also been humble and apologized for what she said to him. Instead her insults are still withstanding, and Philip is expected to just accept her words.

See this is the problem with Tokime that I'm remembering from my brief time with the manga: The story wants to validate her existence because she really doesn't serve any purpose besides TnA either in this show or the original manga. She has very little in the way of character or function in the story and is just a generic pretty anime girl because they can have one of those now. They weren't going to over-sexualize Akiko (than God) so they needed someone to fill that appeal slot because it's for an "older audience" now and we need that apparently.

I don't even dislike the character, but I dislike how the plot centers around her. When she's not in the forefront she'd quite tolerable but events centered around her tended to be highly contrived.

Considering that at this point Tokime had shown no level of professionalism or care whatsoever I don't see why she deserved sugarcoating or tact. She was quite literally getting a free ride, probational release despite being an opportunistic thief and she got to live at Shotaro's place for free. She had a very simple task and that was to not abandon the client and she did. (again, nobody knows that she was in a weird trance) From Philip's perspective his criticism was absolutely valid.

It feels very... pandering? Like just, very shoehorned in where it doesn't add anything and it just gets annoying more than anything. I cringed so hard so many times in episode 1

I think the difference comes down to the fact that in a manga you can gloss over the shots of titties and ass as fast (or slow) as you want, but in an anime you don’t have a choice but to linger along with the show whenever it decides it wants to. (Which is way more often than I remember)

Again, it’s still toned down from the manga believe it or not, and I think I would cringe less if it wasn’t for the fact that it’s more or less all Tokime exists to do. We’ve gotten more gratuitous body shots than we have Henshin sequences in this Kamen Rider series. :lolol

I mean, to be honest I don't think they're even focusing on it that much and the fanservice was shared between her and Monako in this arc, and this arc was really about Tokime proving herself and showing that she can commit to being a member of the Narumi Detective Agency when push come to shove, which is why she's accepted by everybody at the end.

Obviously the show isn't downplaying that she's an attractive woman but I think her character development and relationship with the other characters will be one of the shows' central arcs, especially since she's connected to the villains.

Right? I thought episode 5 was doing really well about toning things down, then we get to the closing action scene and the Dopant just rips off half of Tokime's shirt for no legitimate reason.

Interestingly enough, I have to wonder if her sudden inexplicable outfit change was in response to some of that. I really can't see any other reason that they decided to give Tokime a new, more modest outfit in Fuuto PI when she didn't have one in the manga. They even deliberately added a scene where she got her outfit torn up and everything.

I mean, her outfit is nice, and it's great that they gave us a diegetic reason for the change, but it's kinda headscratching nonetheless. Then again, maybe they planned it all along. Who knows?

Apparently she's been censored in China because of her manga outfit?

Criticizing Philip doesn't mean ignoring Tokime's rudeness back. I'm not exclusively refering to Tokime's retort here, but other characters too, like Akiko is stunned at Tokime's response, Terui ordered both to stop (though this won't properly defuse them), and Shotaro views them as both arguing (neither are being in the right). About Philip's apologize, it's not only about this part but also about others like him unintentionally treating her like lab specimen before.

Aside from that, just in general, why is offending someone while saying the truth makes it considered "more" honest than someone just saying the truth? It's not sugarcoating when someone speaks the truth without attacking. People come up with justifications for their actions so they can get away with it which includes using 'honesty' as an excuse for rudeness. Though going back to the series, proper criticism can be chastising by directly telling her to stay focused on the order and not get herself distracted, or drilling how important/serious the client's life is, which'd not involve insults if only focusing on telling that (then again, he was consumed by jealousy).

I think this one may have risen from a misunderstanding actually. Crunchyroll uploaded a version of the opening with her in her second outfit, and with no explanation why that'd be yet people jumped to 'maybe it's for censorship in other territories?' I haven't seen people citing any changes from said other versions, though. Now that she's had the outfit change in-show, it just looks like CR uploaded a second version of the OP early.

It's one thing to be braving a blizzard in Fuuto...it's a whole 'nother thing to be braving a blizzard in the mountains for Shotaro and Philip who are stuck there because Philip was on a mushroom kick. But that's classic Shotaro and Philip.

"My hubby is a bike." I love how Tokime just assumes she means because Terui rides a bike because she doesn't know that's actually literal.

A blizzard? A mansion? A bunch of people all bunched together with no phone or easy access to the outside world? Oh boy, W is taking on a mystery genre staple.

Not a yuki-onna, but Kanna is definitely a raven-haired beauty! Although as pretty as she is, especially in that backless dress, you've got Tokime waiting for you back home Shotaro! Don't be getting all cozy with another woman!

So basically we're dealing with a masquerade version of The Bachelor where a rich dude is participating in a marriage interview with a bunch of lovely (and busty) ladies vying for his favor in the tradition of his family...and he could care less about their moral character. And of course our protagonists are caught in the middle.

They're not alone though, as we've also got Bando there as well and meeting Shotaro and Philip, but he's using an assumed name and he's the only one aware he just met Kamen Rider...although if he also helped choose the bridal candidates he's also probably aware of who the Dopant is.

Alcohol Dopant? It's one ugly Dopant, but it's also super absorbant, feels no pain (because it's drunk), and can use the alcohol it exudes to fry you up with it's eye beam. It's not going to be easy to hurt this thing .

The effect of HeatJoker in the snow looked amazing.

The Dopant is definitely out to kill all the eligible marriage candidates (sorry Koyomi, you looked great in a kimono), but it seems a little too obvious that it's one of the ladies themselves.

So Kanna is the only one of the marriage candidates who had a normal job (or at least one that didn't involve seducing people or relying on her looks), and she knows something is out to kill her. Did she just see Koyomi get killed? She doesn't seem as obsessed with getting married as the other girls so why is she involved in this? One way or another it seems like she knows a lot more about what's going on if Shotaro not talking more with her could've prevented future victims...unless Kanna is the future victim.

Mick may have to settle for less than he did with the Sonozaki's, but he seems to enjoy making jokes out of Akiko's antics.

Snowstorm, an interesting masquerade marriage situation, with no contact to the outside world? Sounds like a very classic detective story!

While I was iffy on how the other mysteries were handled before, I feel like this one should make for an interesting one given our limited suspects. Not to mention it's nice to see our main villain and heroes meet each other, though with Shotaro and Philip oblivious to him being Aurora.

https://twitter.com/spoilerleak2/sta...884683776?s=20

By the way, it seems judging from this tweet with the episode descriptions... it should be obvious we skipped the mini-arc set of chapters at the end of Volume 2 that involved Mick. I'd imagine that'd make a good OVA of sorts so maybe it'll be a bonus Blu-Ray thing.

But in an interesting turn of events we seem to be skipping the entirety of Volume 4 to go straight to Volume 5 to likely give us a better way to end the anime run. No clue if we'll handle what I assume is the Puzzle Dopant case from the Manga in the anime, but they could do it later. (Again unsure since well, I haven't read the Manga and I'm not sure if translators have gotten to that part yet)

Though if they do just not adapt Volume 4 then if we return to Fuuto PI in the future, our first stop would be Volume 6 which would be Kamen Rider Skull focused from what little information (Volume Cover/Chapter Names) I have, and that'll be pretty cool.

https://i.imgur.com/jHHwB39.png

As soon as I saw that mansion I was in on this arc. It's a classic detective story set-up ala Clue and I am here for it. Makes me also wonder if they're all gonna do the classic detective cliche of "the butler did it." Personally, I hope not, as I have my own guess as to who the murderer is, my personal hunch is that it's the grandmother but we'll see.

Things are fun so far!

It always seemed to me that this is not a clich?, but a joke. Because, no matter how much I remember similar stories in literature and cinema, the butler became a criminal only in parodies.

Once again, Phillip's bizarre manias lead to even bigger messes than they seem. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

All I needed to see was that Mansion to know the bad guys were waiting, and I was sort of right, since Bando's here. But the whole setup? I'm into that! I knew it was a murder mystery before they even got past the introductions, and I am here for it!

So, Bando's under a fake name (and not the owner of the mansion like I was bracing for, but that would have been too obvious), but that makes me wonder if the grandmother's in on his identity and has a connection to his Dopant City/operations, but even that could be completely wrong.

Alcohal Dopant. That's something. Just another way the Anime Dopants are just built different. Road or Meganeura are my favorites so far. Though I think we might get another Dopant since the case is given the letter "K."

Other notes, I can't wait to see Tokime's reaction to Accel turning into a bike, and the fact that Shoutarou and Phillip's masks are the same color as when they were Kamen Singers in that one arc from the original series gave me joy.

I know I'm nowhere at this point in the Manga (maybe I should catch up on it if it got updated) but I'm hearing they skipped and arc or two? Not sure how I feel about that, so long as they weren't too story important or lackluster like the last case (wasn't horrible, it got "better" but not a favorite) I think I'll be fine. I just want to at least see Accel in action (which will happen).

Anyway, my bets are on one of the women (probably not the one you're thinking) or an extra person Bando might have brought with him. Though, the Butler is practically begging to dood it. I won't get my hopes up, I'm here to enjoy a good mystery!

Honestly kinda shocked we never got a true murder mystery story in W before. Definitely into the vibes from it, the first death was shockingly brutal, the dopant design is fantastically off-putting, having our main heroes and villain together without realizing the latter's intentions is tense, really looking forward to this.

As for the skipped arc, from what I heard it was simply an arc meant to explain how Mick the cat ended up in the agency. As toku fans, most of us already know. So we're not missing much. In the anime's case, it's not like Mick is a major character, so dedicating a full arc just to give first-timers his backstory isn't really required. He's Philip's cat. If you like Fuuto P.I. and wanna watch the source, you'll learn about it there.